The Irish mixed and women's 4x400m relay teams sealed their spots at the 2024 Olympic Games in scintillating fashion on the opening day of the World Athletics Relays in Nassau, the Bahamas.
Both teams ran superb national records to win their heats and illustrate Ireland’s strength on the global relay stage once again.
First up it was the turn of the Mixed 4x400m team which comprised Cillin Greene, Rhasidat Adeleke, Thomas Barr and Sharlene Mawdsley, who clocked a time of 3:12.50 to win their heat.
Barr and Greene couldn’t contain their delight.
"We knew in our heart of hearts that we had everything we needed to qualify and to get through and win this race but sometimes it’s about executing it," Barr said.
"I feel like we did that exactly what we needed to do to get the job done.
"That’s our first race as a unit this year. Looking forward it looks like we’re only going to get faster, it’s really promising to have the team together and doing so well this early in the season."
Adeleke and Mawdsley made a remarkable return 90 minutes later to help the women’s team to victory in 3:24.38, taking over one and a half seconds off the previous record.
Mawdsley split under 51 seconds for the second time in the evening, while Adeleke was once again under 50 seconds.
Stellar performances also from Sophie Becker and Phil Healy allowed Ireland to storm to the win.
"If anything, I was feeling a little bit sleepy after being up so early this morning," Adeleke said. "Knowing that we could all qualify for the Olympics gives you enough energy to go out there and do your best."
"We couldn’t have asked for much more. Two wins, two national records… what a dreamy night. I can’t put into words how much this means to us all. We ticked off all the checklist for today," Mawdsley added.
Both teams will now prepare for finals which take place in the early hours on Monday morning Irish-time.
